Study Suggests Men Suffer More When Sick; Due to Being Weaker?

Science has seemingly backed men in the battle of "Who suffers more between men and women when their sick?"

In a December publishing of a study from medical journal The BMJ, men may experience worse symptoms than women after catching a respiratory virus. Of course, there has been the concept of the "Man Flu", where men may overly exaggerate symptoms from the likes of a cold, or other minor illnesses.

Dr. Kyle Sue, the author of the study for BMJ says the biggest reason behind the added suffering for men is an overall weaker immune response than women.

"Men may not be exaggerating symptoms but have weaker immune responses to viral respiratory viruses, leading to greater morbidity and mortality than seen in women," Kyle said.

There is no real scientific reasoning behind the results of men having weaker immune systems then women. Dr. Sue did say, however, that even though it may look a bit lazy to the women in our lives, the way men handle the flu, specifically relaxing on the couch, not moving, etc., have healing benefits.

"Lying on the couch, not getting out of bed or receiving assistance with activities of daily living could also be evolutionarily behaviors that protect against predators," Sue said. "Perhaps now is the time for male-friendly spaces, equipped with enormous televisions and reclining chairs, to be set up where men can recover from the debilitating effects of man flu in safety and comfort."